By News BriefSifuna Fires Back at Ruto: “You Used the Hustler Manifesto in 2022—Why Are You Asking About Our WATAM Manifesto?”
Former ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna has hit back at President William Ruto over questions surrounding the opposition’s manifesto, drawing a comparison between Ruto’s 2022 Hustler campaign message and the opposition’s emerging WATAM political narrative.
Sifuna argued that Ruto should not demand an explanation of the opposition’s manifesto when his own 2022 presidential campaign was built around the Hustler movement and its promises to Kenyan voters.
According to Sifuna, just as Ruto went into the 2022 election selling the Hustler agenda, the opposition is now presenting the WATAM message as an alternative political platform ahead of the 2027 General Election.
“You used the Hustler manifesto in 2022. Why are you asking about our WATAM manifesto?” Sifuna said.
His remarks are likely to fuel an increasingly heated political debate as Kenya’s political camps begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 elections.
Sifuna maintained that the opposition should be allowed to develop and sell its own political agenda to Kenyans rather than being compelled to explain itself according to the government’s political framework.
The exchange signals a potentially sharper battle between the Hustler and WATAM narratives, with both sides expected to use their respective messages to mobilise voters and define the political contest ahead of 2027.
